How to Make Your Own Laundry Soap

Save money and make your own laundry soap powder! With a small investment and a little time, you can make enough laundry soap to last several months. This post is an updated version of a post originally published on my old website in 2017.

This is simply the best and most effective homemade laundry soap powder recipe you’ll find on the Internet! It can be made for pennies compared to commercial and all-natural detergents in today’s market, and you have complete control over all the ingredients. 

You can make this laundry using a commercial bar soap, or you might consider using a handmade soap like the one I offer in my shop (just a suggestion–no judgment here).

Handmade Laundry Soap

This particular laundry soap is low-sudsing, eco-friendly, and budget-friendly. You have to try it; you’ll be amazed by the laundry results and thrilled with the money you save.

This recipe makes 9 1/2 pounds of laundry soap powder. If the amount scares you a little, find a friend to pitch in on the cost and share the bounty. 

Recipe

This recipe makes 152 ounces (9.5 pounds) of laundry soap powder.

• 1 box of borax (65 ounces)
• 1 box of baking soda (16 ounces)
• 1 box of washing soda (55 ounces)
• 4 four-ounce bars of the soap of your choice (16 ounces total)
• 4-6 oz essential oils if you want them

Instructions

Here is how to put it together:

• Grate the soap with a fine-tooth cheese grater. The smaller the soap flakes, the better they dissolve in water. Grating the soap bars is the hardest part. It’s a little bit of a workout; trust me, it’s worth the effort. If you have an electric grater, then this part is easy.
• Open the boxes of dry ingredients. You might have to break up some of the clumps by hand. Wear a dust mask or do this step outside. The powders are light, but they make a dusty mess.
• Mix all the powders and soap flakes thoroughly, then store them in a sealed container.

How to Use Handmade Laundry Soap

Use two tablespoons of powder per full load or one tablespoon for a smaller load. You can increase it to 1/4 cup for particularly dirty, heavy loads, such as work jeans. 

Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white vinegar as an alternative to commercial fabric softeners. Add it to the rinse cycle via your washer’s fabric softener dispenser (I use it in those fabric softener balls you fill and toss into the load). The vinegar will cut through any soap residue, leaving your laundry smelling sweet, fresh, and clean.

How Much Does It Cost to Make Handmade Laundry Soap?

Right now, as of today, June 20, 2025, the prices of the ingredients at my local Walmart are as follows:

So, you see? You can make your laundry soap for as little as $16.91 and make over 9 pounds of it, plus the cost of whatever essential oil you want in your soap and your soap bar choice. 

My Laundry Castile bar (a new soap bar made of olive oil without any additional conditioning oils and salt) significantly increases the price. However, even with the handmade castile, your laundry soap costs only $36.44, which isn’t bad for 9.5 pounds of all-natural laundry soap.

In a Nutshell

I’ve enjoyed using handmade laundry soap for nearly two decades now, and let me tell you, I will never go back to store-bought laundry soap! This recipe thoroughly cleans clothes and works marvelously for my family’s sensitive skin. 

It is a money saver, regardless of the bar soap I choose to use. Our new Laundry Castile soap bars are made with olive oil, water, lye, and sea salt. They cure out very hard. This castile leaves clothing clean, soft, and smelling sweet.

Side note: If you purchase the Laundry Castile bars, you can choose between “bar soap” or “grated soap.” By choosing “grated soap,” I will grate the Laundry Castile bars you have selected and ship the flakes to you via mail. 

Not willing to deal with the hassle or the dust? Buy our laundry soap here!